Final Four newcomer Dobele won bronze medals

April 16, 2023

The match for the 3rd place between the Lithuanian and Latvian champions was decided by a single goal. ZRHK TENAX Dobele won againts VHC Šviesa 27:26.  

ZRHK TENAX Dobele started the match better and led 16:14 after the first half. In the second half the score was even 8 times. ZRHK TENAX Dobele played more successfully at the end of the match and won a historic victory. Dobele won the medals of the Baltic Handball League for the first time in history.

VHC Šviesa – ZRHK TENAX Dobele 26:27 (14:16) 
VHC Šviesa – Bliuvas 8, Urvikis 6, Plėta 5, Rasakevičius 3, Bernatavičius 2, Sinkevičius 1, Ugianskis 1.
ZRHK TENAX Dobele – Pančenko 6, Kreicbergs 5, Usāns 4, Politers 3, Šuleiko 3, Juzups 2, Miķelsons 2, Arājs 1, Krūmiņš 1.

Sandris Veršakovs (coach, ZRHK TENAX Dobele):
We are satisfied with the third place. We had a chance to play in the final but we didn’t. One other mistake led to a loss in the semifinals. It feels good to end the tournament with a victory. The match for the third place against VHC Šviesa was very tough. Anyone could win. Goalkeeper Artūrs Kuģis played fantastically today and helped us a lot. We will celebrate the club’s historic achievement in the Baltic League after the season. Now we have a decisive match in the Latvian Championship, so we have no time to celebrate.

Žygimantas Sinkevičius (coach, VHC Šviesa):
It is difficult to comment. As in the semi-final we lost by one goal. It was a close game but we didn’t make our shots. The details decided the winner. It’s disappointing because both in the semi-finals and in the match for the third place we lost by one goal. In the Baltic League in 2021 we took second place, last year we won third place. This year we wanted medals too. Unfortunately lost both matches in the Final four.